Surgeons successfully remove second head from baby in India

By: Eva Fett
(Scroll down for video) A couple was shocked when their baby was born with a second head.

The baby underwent surgery in which doctors successfully removed his extra head.

The baby, who is now 8-months-old, was born with a second head which is believed to be from his parasitic “twin”. A five-hour operation was performed by surgeons at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital in Kolkata, India.

Neurosurgeon Sisir Das said that the second head, which was on top of the boy’s head, weighed about two pounds and had brain tissue within it. The baby, named Tofajjal, was born with a rare condition called encephalomeningocele, which affects one in about 42,500 babies.

Das, who led the medical team, said: “I have never operated on such a large lesion. It was a critical operation as the slightest slip up during the surgery could have ended the life of the baby.”

Doctors in the small village of Tripura told the parents that their baby cannot be cured and could die soon, but luckily, the doctors at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital were able to save the baby.

Tofajjal seems to be recovering nicely, and doctors expect him to make a full recovery, thus giving him a new lease on life.